UPCOMING EVENTS

Nov 13 Kent County SPCA changes name

For Immediate Release

Kent County SPCA changes name to First State Animal Center-SPCA

Dover, DE -- Since its inception in 1953, the First State Animal Center and SPCA has cared for and provided loving shelter for tens of thousands of animals through its founding organization, the Kent County SPCA. Through its dedicated staff and volunteers, the First State Animal Center and SPCA gives animals the best of medical care, food, kindness, with the goal that the animals would find their "forever homes," through loving adoptions.

Earlier this fall, the Kent County SPCA was officially renamed the First State Animal Center and SPCA, in recognition of its statewide animal welfare focus and to help the public more easily identify the full array of services the organization provides Delaware's pets and the people who care for them. In late September, the organization was awarded the county's dog control program by Kent County Levy Court.

Kevin Usilton, executive director of the First State Animal Center-SPCA, said that the name change is part of the organization's evolution and growth as it handles dog control issues for all three counties in Delaware, and it is more a true reflection of the array of services the organization offers pet owners and animals, including pet adoptions, lost pet returns, obedience training, rabies enforcement and numerous other services.

"It is our hope that the name change will raise our visibility here in the First State, with the ultimate goal of us carrying out our noble mission of preventing animal cruelty and suffering throughout our state," he said. "Being called the First State Animal Center and SPCA should help as we talk and educate people about animal welfare issues. We are located in the center of the state, we have four main buildings on our campus here, and so 'center' better reflects our true services."

"We are very proud of the years of service to the animals and the community in Kent County that the KCSPCA has performed over the past 60 years," said Alex Moore, president of the FSAC-SPCA board of directors. "We have always been an independent organization; we have no financial affiliations with any other shelter in Delaware. It is because of this and our ongoing service to the entire state of Delaware that we have changed our name."

"We believe that the new name better represents who we really are now and going into the future," he said.

The mission of the First State Animal Center and SPCA is twofold: they protect animals from people, by prevention of cruelty and suffering, rescue of the trapped or injured, emergency medical treatment, temporary housing for homeless animals and the reduction of homeless pet overpopulation through targeted spay/neuter and education programs; and they protect people from animals through their commitment in placing only stable, safe and well-adjusted animals into homes where they will thrive while simultaneously educating the public about responsible pet guardianship.

Information about the First State Animal Center and SPCA can be found at www.fsac-spca.org. Animal control can be reached 24/7 at (302) 698-3006.